" whoohoo! Epson drivers for my 980N finally! (see versiontracker's OS X page)
Well, I downloaded them, installed them, and configured them. Tried printing a TextEdit file... no luck! The file spools, then just hangs. It appears to lock up my network at that point, it stalled a download on another computer that was in progress. When I force quit the print job, download continued on the second computer. This was tried 3 times, restarting in between tries.

Config:
G4 733MHz Graphite, (running OS X.1), G4 533 (second computer that was downloading), Epson 980N, two network switches- 1. Asante FS4008E 10/100 switch, Epson 980N hooked to this switch, 2. Asante GX4 4 port Gigabit switch, G4s hooked to this switch. Uplink connection to the GX4 from the FS4008E. All Cat5e wiring between each component.
The good news is that my Apple 12/640 seems to print perfectly!
Cheers!
Bart"

My Photo 870 is scheduled to have drivers released on Nov 5th. (Links to 10.1 drivers for the Epson C40,C60,C80, Photo 785EPX and Photo 820 are linked in Monday's news. )

PB G3 266mHz G3/512mb RAM
Sonnet Cresendo/WS G3/500 Upgrade
Comments:
"I'd hoped to be writing a glowing report, but I am unable to get the Crescendo/WS G3 to operate stably in my WallStreet 266 so it's going back to Sonnet.

The install went fine - although the RAM slots on the new card were very, very tight and it took more muscle than I expected in order to seat them properly. Once installed and configured (it does that all by itself from the software loaded before the card install, but there's no explanation of what's being done - moving ROM info, I suppose), the boot up went very fast and I was able to get a few minutes use. But when I tried to run Norton SystemWorks to clock the system info and see how much better it was ...almost immediate lockup. I restarted and it froze on bootup. I tried to restart using the Norton CD as startup disk and got no further before freezeup. According to Sonnet tech support, I'm running too much RAM.

They tell me their card is only rated for 192mb RAM - the max according to the original Apple specs. The fact that I'm running solid as a rock with 512mb (256 each in upper & lower slots) on the stock Apple 266 card does not matter according to Crescendo tech support.

I tried again with just one 256 (the lower slot) and again got the wicked fast boot up, but it froze while trying to run any application and, again, on restart would not get through the boot up.
Thinking I gave up too easily, I called Crescendo [Sonnet] back; but the tech support rep told me in no uncertain terms that they "are not surprised by crashes" because the amount of RAM I'm using exceeds 192mb. So I got an RMA and am returning the card with little good to say about it.

Should I try Blue Chip or is the PowerLogix product also limited by Apple's original 192mb RAM?
Alan Silverman "

After the many mixed reports on the Bluechip in the database, I'm not sure what to suggest. There have been comments on problems with >192MB of RAM with that upgrade (but some were ok, however I'd contact Powerlogix to get their official comments on their current production model.)
I was hoping that the Sonnet WS upgrade would support more than 192MB, since they hired ex-Newer Tech engineers and I ran 512MB in my PowerBook G3 wallstreet1 with a Newer Tech G3/466 without any problems at all as noted in my review of that upgrade. (That review was written before OS X was released, but I saw no problems at all with it in extended use and performance tests.)

" Mike,
Dunno if this one has hit your radar screen already or not but I've beening looking for it for a long time:
www.gefen.com/products/extendit/cables_accessories/
adaptors/adc%20to%20vga/index.html

Reasonable at $49.00 (although Gefen's shipping costs are a bit pricey)
Best,
Randy Wyan
Digital Graphix & Design"

The ADC connector must have DVI-I pins (analog signals) as well as the DVI signals (and ADC power/USB). Since the other ADC graphics cards (except for the twin-head model) don't support dual monitors and already have a VGA connector, this cable would only be of use for the OEM Nvidia Twin-Head MX card owners.

" Mike, I'm really skeptical of this. Here's why
The claim in the Apple forums is that copying files on the OS X 10.1 CD located at

private/Drivers/ppc/IONDRV.config/
to
/System/Library/Extensions/AppleNDRV/
on your OS X disk, and then changing the underscore in the filenames to a period, will add acceleration support for Rage II and Rage Pro.

Problem #1: The files in question are:
ATYLT-G_ndrv ATYRagePro_ndrv Spinnaker_ndrv control_ndrv
ATYLTPro_ndrv ATYRage_ndrv chips65550_ndrv

From the name, these are related to the NDRV system. A NDRV is the minimalistic video driver stored in the ROM or flash on every Macintosh video card. NDRVs support nothing more than the very basic functions such as changing resolution, color depth, and color palette / gamma table. NDRVs have absolutely no acceleration functionality.

The only way these files can enable acceleration is if them being missing somehow causes the true driver to fail to load, or some such thing.

Problem #2: The files aren't missing. They are installed under
/private/Drivers/ppc/IONDRV.config/

Maybe MacOS X isn't loading them when they're in that directory, but they are in the same location as they are on the CD.

Problem #3: The acceleration drivers are things like:
/System/Library/Extensions/ATIRage128.kext:
/System/Library/Extensions/ATIRage128DVDDriver.bundle:
/System/Library/Extensions/ATIRage128GA.plugin:
/System/Library/Extensions/ATIRage128GLDriver.bundle:

From this, we see that there is support for the Rage 128, complete with DVD accel, GA (Graphics Acceleration = 2D accel), and OpenGL acceleration.

Rage Pro has:
/System/Library/Extensions/ATIRagePro.kext:
/System/Library/Extensions/ATIRageProGA.plugin:

so Rage Pro does have 2D accel but nothing else. Tweaking the NDRVs won't add GL support out of thin air (some are claiming that they now get GL acceleration).
-- Tim Seufert

The RagePro is used in rev B and later Beige G3 (onboard video) and AIO Macs, rev B to D iMacs. The notebook version (RageProLT) is used in PowerBook G3 2nd wallstreet series and Lombards. The (slower) RageII is used in rev A Beige G3s, rev A iMacs and the RageLT (similar to RageII) is used on orginal PB G3 wallstreet series. (I'm not sure if the RagePro drivers work with the RageII/RageLT chip.)

Combo DVD-CDRW Reports:
• IDE Toshiba R1102 (8x8 CDR/CDRW + 8x DVD) in B&W G3 (OS X)
  (crash noted updating to 10.1. R1102 works great for me in a Dual G4 as noted in my OS X 10.1 DVD player, CDRW burning, etc. article)
  
  IDE CDRW Reports:
• Imation 8432 8x4x32x in Dual G4 (OS 9.2)
• LG GCE-8160B (16X/10X/40X) in Beige G3 (OS 9.2)
  (LG listed under "other brands")
• TDK VeloCD 24/10/40 in Beige G3 (OS 9.1)
  (noted problems, so he now uses it in a Pyro FW case)
  
  Firewire CDRW Drive Reports:
• Lite-On 16102B 16/10/40 in ADS Pyro FW Case w/B&W G3 (OS X)
  (noted problems erasing CDRWs in 10.1)
• TDK VeloCD 24/10/40 in ADS Pyro FW Case used w/Beige G3 (OS 9.1)
  
  IDE Hard Drive Reports:
• IBM Travelstar 48GB in PowerBook G3 2000
• IBM 60GXP 40GB in iMac (OS 9.2)
• Western Digital WD800BB 80GB in 7600 w/IDE PCI Card (OS 8.6)
  
  Firewire Hard Drive Reports:
• IBM 60GB in OWC Elite FW Case used w/Beige G3 (OS9.2 )
  (used our FW case kit build guide)

You can find full owner reports by searching the database by drive/brand/interface/mac models (the latest reports are shown first in searches).
For guides to installing CD/CDRW/DVD drives or Hard drives in many mac models, see the IDE Articles page. The Firewire articles page also has guides on case kits, installing drives, etc.
If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database. [If you post an updated entry - make sure you use the same name, etc. as you did before so I can find your past entry. Thanks.]

• Newer Tech G3/250 in 8100/100 (rated 10)
• Sonnet Cresendo G3/500 in Powerbook G3 Wallstreet1 (rated 1)
  (problems noted - see today's news item for details)
• XLR8 CarrierZIF w/G3 400 (OWC bundle) in 8600/200 (rated 10)
  (includes comments on Avid Cinema (motionjpeg compressor) PCI card)
• B&W G3/400 OC report

(Warning - Overclocking may not be reliable and could lead to hardware failure or corrupted data.) You can find the full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database for entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. (Searchable by mac model/upgrade brand). For detailed reviews with performance tests and install tips, see the CPU Upgrades page.)

• 1 year ago today
• 2 years ago today
• 3 years ago today

Software Updates:
• KPT Effects
• MPEG2Splitter
  
  OS X 10.1 Related:
• ScanWise X for Mac OS X (10.04 or higher)
• Toon Boom
• DivOSX
• Keyspan USB to Serial Adapters
• Keyspan SX Pro Serial Card
• Keyspan Digital Media Remote
• EPSON Stylus COLOR 980
• EPSON Stylus Photo 780
• EPSON Stylus Photo 890
• EPSON Stylus Photo 1280

Apple Tech Docs:
• PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet): How to Find AirPort ID of Preinstalled AirPort Card
  
  OS X Related Docs:
• Optimizing for Earlier ATI Graphics Accelerators
• Nifty - Apple Internal 56K Modem Scripts
• Mac Help Cannot Open System Preferences Panes After an Update Install
• Unexpected Behavior When You Log Out, Shut Down, or Restart
• Using Double-Byte Characters

Mac/PowerPC Related News:
(Note: Rehashing of press releases, repeated news, etc. not listed)

• Apple dangles rebates to spur iMac sales (cnet)
• Snap It Up (apple)
• Crystal Clear Savings (apple)
• Creatives Find Freedom with Airport (apple)
• Entourage 2001: Folders Disappear or Error 1500 Message Is Displayed When You Attempt to Connect to a Hotmail Account (microsoft)
• Cannot boot new G4/867 from NUM 6, NAVM 7, NSW, or NIS CD (symantec)
• Apple the underdog tries to break out of its niche (marketwatch)
• Apple's Musical Jukebox Fed by the Mac (NYTimes)
• Apple Has Big Hopes for iPod (interactiveweek)
• Deneba Ships New Digital Photo Sharing Software DenebaShare; Unleashes New Way to Share Digital Photo (businesswire)
• Consumer Technologies Make Startling Advances in Decade (WSJ)
• Digital memoirs (apple)
• Apple Halloween iCards (apple)
• The iPod first public Appearance (maccity)
• Mac OS X iTunes 2 Revealed (with Pictures) (macwrite)
• Macintosh OS X: Apple is nifty, but Windows is more practical (freep)
• Mac, Linux, DOS fans: Enough with XP! (zdnet)
• Gigs beckon (macworld uk)

Gaming Related:
• Galactic Core (spidersoftware)
• Paradise Island (poptop)
• A look at MacSoft's Myth III: The Wolf Age (maccentral)
• To X or Not To X (IMG)
  Misc. Hardware Related:
  • NEC cuts targets for DRAM, PCs (cnet)
  • Contract 128Mb, 256Mb DRAM prices start to rise (the register)